No clear winner here. The Wagon R rides better and is more stable on a bumpy road despite slightly lower profile tyres, but the Santro is nicer to drive. Broken roads bring out the best in the Wagon R and ride quality is good for a car of this size. It doesn't get thrown off line over bumps like the Santro, especially at the rear, where it is clearly better setup than the Hyundai. Furthermore, the rear of the Santro loses composure easily, transmits more bumps and hops around on poor patches. Overall ride quality is also lesspliant than that of the Wagon R, the Hyundai possessing a harder edge over the same bumps.
The Santro however comes out on top when it comes to changing direction. The steering is light, the wheelbase short and centre of gravity further off the ground than ideal. Still, the Santro enjoys being driven with a degree of verve. It wants to corner, turn-in is positive and composure pretty impressive. This delivers great confidence to the driver. Yes, it rolls a fair bit, but this is something you get
comfortable with. The Wagon R, on the other hand, can't be driven with the same degree of enthusiasm. The electric power-steering feels disconnected from the wheels. This feeling
is accentuated at high speeds and the light steering doesn’t inspire confidence. However,
the Wagon R has better brakes that are strong and more linear than the over-servoed Santro anchors that lock up without much warning when pressed hard best.